A new Brandon Harris? LSU needs it to be true

9:54 AM ET

HOOVER, Ala. — One by one, LSU players tried to rewrite the story of Brandon Harris.

They started by chipping away at the premise. You know the one. It goes something like this: Harris as the No. 1 reason why LSU didn’t reach double digits in wins last year. His completion percentage, which ranked 101st among qualifying QBs, was too low. Six interceptions wasn’t bad, of course, but 13 touchdowns wasn’t nearly enough. He just couldn’t move the ball downfield, the offense struggled to feature anything more than the power running game and it nearly cost LSU coach Les Miles his job.

But at SEC media days last week, his teammates pushed back against the narrative. Center Ethan Pocic said that Harris “got the short end of the stick.” Star running back Leonard Fournette agreed, chalking it up to the way fans and media put losses at the feet of the head coach and the quarterback.

“But it takes all 11 of us,” Fournette said.

Did it look to you like Harris lost his confidence late in the year? After LSU started 7-0, his stats flatlined, beginning with an anemic 6-of-19 performance against Alabama. But if you ask close friend and LSU defensive back Tre’Davious White, there wasn’t anything mental at play. He’ll tell you that Harris never wavered, that “he wants that pressure.”

Pocic said the same thing: “He was the same quarterback that he was at the end of the season, the middle of the season, the beginning of the season — a 7-0 quarterback. I feel like he got too much of the blame at points.”

LSU quarterback Brandon Harris’ teammates say he has a new confidence and …

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